The traditional methods of assessment which include writing, speaking and practice still have a great influence upon the creation of assessments. But modern didactics and lots of studies show, as the authors Monica Pop and Monica Ștefan indicate, that the traditional methods of assessing are limited and that the school results are a way of forcing the students to take part into a systematic teaching activity (Pop & Ștefan, 2013). The accent falls on the volume of knowledge and rarely on abilities and capacities. This fact, according to the authors, discourage the desired development of pupils (Pop & Ștefan, 2013).
1. Evaluation strategies
According to Cristina Vasile and Denisa Ene, these strategies include all the methods and techniques that should be used in the didactic process through different periods of time. The assessment can be: initial, continuous or final. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 114-115)
The initial assessment should be made at the beginning of a learning cycle, school year, semester and so on. The main objective of this type of evaluation is to observe the level of knowledge of students at that given time. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 115) Through this evaluation, the teacher can collect evidence which will help him to establish some future strategies. This strategy accentuates the differences between individuals. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 116)
The continuous assessment is the most important of all, since it verifies the results and the progress that have been made by the students during the didactic process. This type of evaluation allows the teacher to revise the information, to see where the students have problems and to identify solutions. Through it, teachers may prevent the failure of students. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 115) This strategy follows the student’s progress in accordance to the pedagogical objectives and allows the immediate improvement. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 116)
The final assessment collects the students’ results and compare them with the general objectives of the discipline. This type of evaluation only comes at a late point of the didactic process, so it does not allow any immediate improvement. Mostly, this assessment is only seen as being important by the students because of the high grades they want. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 116) This last strategy is maybe the most complex, because it must provide some relevant information about the level of knowledge of the students at the end of a stage. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 116)
2. Evaluation methods
The complementary methods of assessment are as good as the traditional ones, maybe even better. According to Monica Pop and Monica Ștefan, the traditional methods only rate some defined content/knowledge on a limited time. (Pop, Ștefan 2013) These modern methods provide different options regarding the assessments and different tools that can be used in order to improve and facilitate the entire process of evaluation. Through those means, the teacher can observe if the students are easily distracted or bored by the specific activity and can instantly change the course of the lesson. (Pop, Ștefan 2013)
Some interesting methods activities are the realization of an investigation, of a project or portofolio or even mind-maps. These are assessments that constitute a stimulus to the heuristic type of learning. The alternative strategies may also involve written papers that can be revised, verbal analyses, teamwork and so on. (Pop, Ștefan 2013) The students will be able to provide elaborated answers and not to be afraid of sharing an opinion. It is also important that the teacher constantly connects the information provided during a lecture with the students’ daily life.
According to Cristina Vasile and Denisa Ene, the most frequently used methods of assessments are: the observation of students’ behaviour, oral evaluation, written evaluation, practical evaluation (all these can be categorized as traditional) and alternative methods: case study, independent activity sheet, portofolio, projects and so on (all these can be categorized as modern). (Vasile, Ene 2017: 117)
The observation of the student’s ehavior during the teaching-learning process allows the teacher to revise the strategies and the content presented so that the student does not feel bored or uninterested in the subject. Also, through this type of assessment, the teacher can verify if the students are able to apply correctly what they have learned. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 117) The information that a teacher provides should always be put into a context and be connected to the real life and need of the students.
Regarding the oral evaluation, the teacher should provide a topic or even structured questions and the student should be able to answer to them. It is also possible that the teacher asks the student to solve something at the blackboard. This is a direct type of evaluation since it allows both the teacher and the student to revise what they have said. It also give the teacher the chance to interpret the answers, to reinforce the student or to lead him into the right direction. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 119)
The written assessment is mostly used to verify a large amount of information. It has the advantage of collecting and verifying information from a great number of students at the same time. This written evaluation can take the form of a test, of synthesis works and so on. The teacher should help the student and provide some guidance. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 120)
3. Evaluation techniques
The didactic activity and the evaluation techniques have been upgraded in order to provide relevant and efficient connections between teaching-learning-evaluation. This was compulsory for the achievement of the desirable behavior and autonomous personality. (Pop, Ștefan 2013)
The types of assessments mentioned before represent the informal evaluation techniques. As we can see in the paper ”Evaluare – între traditional și modern”, the modern or alternative ways can be representative for the curriculum and can be also explained to the teachers and students so they can use them in an appropriate way. They are valid because of the accuracy and consistency with which they are applied. The alternative procedures of assessment help the teacher to rate quantitatively and qualitatively the students’ knowledge and abilities through a contextualized teaching-learning activity. (Pop, Ștefan 2013)
As far as we are concerned, the modern techniques improve the assessment process. These alternatives to the traditional techniques have the advantage of evaluating the results in connection to the teaching-learning process and they also provide the means through which the teacher can observe the achievement of capacities and abilities on a larger period of time. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 127)
Regarding the case study, it is mostly used to observe some phenomena, to analyze and provide explanation of those phenomena, to interpret them or even to argue upon them. The case study as an assessment is realized through analysis and debate. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 127)v We believe that this type of assessment is very useful for the students since they can learn how to co-operate if it is the case, they can practice public speaking and they can improve their writing and speaking.
The investigation is another modern technique and it can be both a source of learning and a means of evaluation. Through this type of assessment, the students should improve their skills in solving a theoretical or practical issue for which they need to carry an investigation, to watch documentaries, to observe some phenomena, to do experiments and so on. The student will accumulate information, will choose the methods of investigation, will create assumptions, will collect data and conclude his/her study. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 127)
The project is also useful and a modern technique of assessment. Through it, the students can use their knowledge in different and new contexts, can discover new aspects and use them. Also, they will be evaluated on their actual work, since the project is something, not about something. The students will have to do concrete work, something that will intrigue them. (Vasile, Ene 2017: 128)
There are, of course, other techniques such as the personal activity sheet, the current observation of the student’s ehavior, the portofolio, the self-assessment, the inter-evaluation and so on. All of these mentioned are modern techniques of evaluation and have a great relevance upon the teaching-learning activity. From our point of view, a teacher should combine the traditional and modern ways so that the students do not get into a simple routine.
4. Conclusions
We consider that the evaluation is one of the most important part of a didactic process, since it allows both the teacher and the student to see what is the level of knowledge, what points have to be improved and what strategies should be adopted next. It is very important that the teacher has a theoretical background when creating an assessment, so that he/she knows exactly what and how the evaluation should take place. The evaluation should provide evidence about the level of a student’s knowledge, capacities or abilities from both quantitatively and qualitatively points of view.The teacher is free to choose between traditional and modern methods and techniques of assessment, but we believe that there should be taken into consideration both the content that it is evaluated and the needs of the students, in order for them to feel satisfied as well.